


What Am I to You?

by SamCreatesFanfic



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, M/M, Nakamoto Yuta is Whipped, Oblivious Sicheng, Slow Burn, Whipped Sicheng
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-07-06 19:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15892707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCreatesFanfic/pseuds/SamCreatesFanfic
Summary: A week. Sicheng didn't think it would take a mere week for him to already miss Yuta, but here he was, mourning around the dorms until the very virtuous moment that Yuta arrived back from Japan.or where Sicheng realizes he might be harboring a slight crush on the one and only Nakamoto Yuta, but he can't get past the fact that Yuta might not see him that way, no matter how obvious it is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first YuWin fanfic on this platform and it took somewhat of a long time because I didn't know what to write and I was swamped with work. Plus I'm really unconfident on my writing skills, so I kept rewriting this until I was satisfied enough to put it out here!
> 
> I'm going to try and add as many side ships as possible because more of them can't hurt, so I'm going to try and give some good side ship content while also not giving too much since I don't want them to take over the Yuwin content. Maybe I'll create side stories later on ;)
> 
> Anyways enough of my introduction rambling. Enjoy the fic!

 

A week. Sicheng didn't think it would take a mere week for him to already miss Yuta, but here he was, mourning around the dorms until the very virtuous moment that Yuta arrived back from Japan.

 It was pathetic really, the way he was moping around from the loss of his friend when just a week ago he was almost begging the man to leave as soon as possible. The statement of him wanting Yuta out was partially true since he was laying the affection extra thick that day- a little  _too_ much even for Sicheng's level of tolerance- but he didn't want to admit to himself that he knew deep down the impact his words had on Yuta, and yet he still let them slip out of his mouth.  

Maybe a few hours of ignoring was something Sicheng had thought would be the extent of Yuta's sorrow, and maybe a stern pouting about how Sicheng had hurt his feelings, but what he didn't expect was that Yuta would be so upset that he would leave a  _day early_ without sending himself off with proper goodbyes from the members or him. To say that Taeyong was very distraught when he realized a member was missing the next morning was an understatement.

Even though time and time again within the short week Yuta decided to take off, Sicheng painstakingly had the urge to throw in the towel and call him- which was usually blocked by his overbearing pride- he never gave in and continued to torture himself as the week went by. He found out when his mind ran wild that he would find multiple scenarios in his daily routine that reminded him of his roommate.

The day after Yuta had decided to ditch the team to frolic in the cherry blossoms of Osaka- which Sicheng did admit were very pretty and he didn't blame Yuta for wanting to escape from idol life for even just a small amount of time- Sicheng found the socks he had gifted Yuta during their filming in Osaka lying limply on Yuta's bed.

The memory only angered him slightly, remembering how the staff had only given him a small sum of money to buy a present for the older. It was a gift he wished was more valuable and special since it was a huge deal for Sicheng to buy something worthwhile for Yuta to bring back with him. He almost contemplated telling Yuta that he decided not to buy anything at all- he would much rather prefer to give him nothing than to give him such a crappy gift-  but being Yuta, and _apparently_ being himself as Yuta stated he would love anything that Sicheng gave him, he accepted with a large grin spread across his face.

After the cameras turned off, he had begged Yuta to tell him if he wanted anything else- he would go as far as to  _steal_ the item if Yuta so happened to want it- but Yuta had excitedly shaken his head and smiled warmly at the pair of cat socks that were cradled in his hand.

 _"Winwin gave me socks with cat patterns and pompoms on the end. I always wear them"_  He remembered Yuta stating in an interview, a reassuring nod of his head as the answer lacked any sort of ingenuine tone. Although he tried to stay cool and collected, it was a challenge to hide the grin that was threatening to surface.

Another time, Renjun had asked Sicheng when he was visiting their dorm if he could send a quick Chinese breakfast recipe to him as he wanted to surprise Kun and the rest of the Dreamies about his improved cooking skills.   
  
_"Kun-ge seemed stressed lately,"_  He commented, spitting out rapid Mandarin at a low volume to avoid the others from hearing.  _"I don't really blame him. Chenle and Jisung can be a handful sometimes."_

Sicheng chuckled at that, ruffling Renjun's hair which earned a whine from the younger as he tried to straighten the locks back to the mild perfection it was originally. "Don't worry, I'll send you an easy one so you couldn't possibly mess it up." He whispered back, garnering a pout but a thank you from the younger before he scampered off to the sound of Chenle yelling his name.

When Sicheng had arrived back at his room- phone waiting for him on the edge of his bedside table- he diligently searched in his notes for a beginner recipe that he remembered using to impress his parents back in the day. With a stroke of luck, he instantly found a beginner recipe and sent the word document to him.

Afterward, he had sat back, staring down at the glowing screen for a few minutes in case the younger had decided to reply back. In waiting, Sicheng made the stupid decision to mindlessly scroll through his previous messages- some from his Hyungs or some from Jisung who loved to bother him with daily reminders of what his teammates were doing- but easily spotted the most previous message sent by Yuta himself.

_"Don't worry, we don't have anything on our schedules today until late so sleep as long as you want. I turned off our alarm in case it woke you up"_

It was a simple message left one morning after a particular confrontment on his behavior. It wasn't one of his best days, and by default one of his worst moods, and of course ending with Yuta being hurt by his lack of human empathy towards him.  He did feel a little guilty looking back on it, knowing his Hyung just wanted to console him at the time, but being his stubborn self he refused to be pitied by anyone.

Of course, knowing Yuta and knowing he never leaves anything alone, a few hours later after his huge meltdown, he was confronted by the older when he made the decision to go back to his room and take a nap.

 _"Sicheng"_  Yuta called out, making Sicheng flinch slightly from the serious tone, one that was rare in cases where _he_ was the subject it was used on.

Noticing the tense effect it had on Sicheng's demeanor, Yuta ducked his head and cleared his throat.  _"What's wrong Sichengie?"_  He changed instead, slowly trailed his way over to Sicheng, who shook his head and backed himself away until his foot made contact with the edge of the bed.

Yuta tilted his head, reaching his hand tentatively to touch Sicheng on the shoulder. He did it ever so gently, almost asking for permission with the long stare he provided when Sicheng made eye contact with him. Sicheng gulped audibly, matching Yuta's gaze and giving a shy nod before Yuta grinned slightly, wrapping his arms over his back and squeezing lightly.

Sicheng tensed slightly- if only for a second- before leaning into the hug, putting his head in the crook of Yuta's neck and steadying his breath. The position at first was awkward- Sicheng having to slouch a little to be able to properly reach Yuta's level- but once they got into a comfortable position, tears immediatly started to sprinkle down his face, Yuta starting to rub soothing circles on his back and shushing him softly. As much as Sicheng didn't want to admit, he cried for a good few minutes before stopping, but in fear that he wouldn't be able to sleep, he asked Yuta is they could sleep together.

Eventually, they both drifted to sleep on Sicheng's bed, Yuta waking up early on accident but not wanting to wake up the sleeping angel clinging onto one of his pillows as he noticed the dark circles that featured prominently under his eyes. He sighed and reluctantly got up, tucking Sicheng in as tight as he could before he got dressed and picked up his phone. As he tiptoed over to the locked door in front of him, he looked down at his phone and sent a quick text before grinning to himself and leaving.

_"Don't worry, we don't have anything on our schedules today until late so sleep as long as you want. I turned off our alarm in case it woke you up"_

**_\--_ **

"God, what am I doing?" Sicheng yelped out, throwing his phone across his bed as he realized his finger was hovering very close to the call button next to Yuta's name. Even after the news- delivered by Taeil, which made Sicheng just the tiniest bit jealous- that Yuta was returning after the very long and very hectic week that almost felt like a year to him, Sicheng still couldn't help being on edge and still have the urge to call him. He was coming home  _tonight_ and he still couldn't be patient.

Picking his phone up from the ground- he should really work on how hard he throws- Sicheng gently put it on his table and went over to his dresser, not even bothering to change from his pajamas as he shrugged on his fluffy white sweater and reluctantly went out into the living room.

Unlike Yuta, none of the other members had gone home for the short time they had between promotions. He wasn't sure if he should've be happy that he wouldn't be alone or sad because in just a span of a few seconds, he had wanted _all_ of them gone.

The Dreamies- although having a completely different dorm to themselves- were running around chasing and tackling each other as loud as they could possibly muster. Jisung was on the receiving end of the sudden sugar rush the others suddenly gained as he was constantly being pinned down by both Renjun and Jaemin, who seemed to purposefully target him. The only support he cried out to seemed to be Chenle, who was happily laughing with Jeno around his arm as Jisung was now being dragged by the leg over to the kitchen. He didn't seem to want to laugh anymore as Jisung mustered up the strength to stand up and pull Chenle down with him.

Taeil and Jaehyun were of no help, enjoying the view of Jisung's suffering as Taeyong yelled at the two to stop encouraging their antics while simulationsly also yelling at  Doyoung to help him make dinner. When he didn't comply, opting to watch the show as well, he was then threatened that if he didn't help, he would tell Taeil the _very important_ secret he's been meaning to tell him. His sudden rush from the couch to the kitchen said everything.

Johnny was beside the two laughing idiots blindly watching a random Thai drama that seemed to show up on TV, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion when an important scene came up and he didn't understand a word of it, but needed to as he had promised Ten he was trying to learn more Thai. Jungwoo came in a few seconds later with a tired Yukhei trailing behind, his body landing face first onto the spot next to Johnny as Jungwoo happily sat on his back. Yukhei groaned but made no attempt to kick him off of him.

"Sicheng!" He heard someone call, turning his head to the side as he saw the soft face of Kun smiling and waving at him. Contrary to the soft expression he expressed, he was struggling to keep the fighting pair of Donghyuck and Mark battling it out, hands grabbing furiously at the other's hair and clothes as Kun separated them. Sicheng smirked and made his way over.

As he made his way closer, he noticed the phone in the crook of Kun's shoulder that was dangerously close to toppling on the ground. "Take it. It's for you anyway" He commented, hurriedly shrugging it into Sicheng's hand. He looked back up towards Kun, who gave him a wink before stretching and putting out his hands to ready himself as Mark tackled Donghyuck to the ground.

Sicheng chuckled slightly and went to the corner of the room away from all the others, putting the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked quietly, thinking blindly how funny the aftermath of Mark and Hyuck's fight will look with them both apologizing profusely and going back to being attached to hip. 

_"Winko? Is that you?"_

Sicheng sharply inhaled, recognizing the perky tone emanating from the phone.

_"Are you there? It's Yuta!"_

Sicheng sputtered out a few incomprehensible words before properly replying. "Ah y-yes, Hyung, I'm here. Did you need me?" 

 _"Oh, well, not in particular. I just wanted to call Kun to let him know I'll be home soon, so he better have dinner ready."_ He chuckled, making Sicheng laugh along with him, forcing down the disappointment of not being the first person he would want to tell such important information to, especially after what happened. It almost seemed like he was _purposely_ ignoring him.

"Hate to break it to you, but Taeyong's the one making it tonight."

_"Ah, good then. Don't tell Kun, but I think our Taeyongie is a better cook"_

Sicheng chuckled. "I don't know, Kun would be awfully sad to hear someone doesn't think as highly of his cooking"

Yuta scoffed.  _"Please, he has the kids to constantly feed his ego."_

"True." He admitted. "It's a shame you wanted to talk to Kun though. I thought after all this time you would've at least called me to explain why you left so suddenly.."

He heard Yuta cough, fumbling around as heard the faint voice of Yuta stuttering to himself. Sicheng smiled softly and waited, while possibly laughing internally over Yuta's nervousness.

 _"I'm sorry for not saying anything before leaving!"_ He quickly said after a few minutes. _"I-I just wanted to leave as soon as possible, as you wanted. I don't like having you mad at me Sichengie, so if leaving early was something you wanted, then I just..."_

Sicheng's smile instantly disappeared, the sound of Yuta's voice breaking as he tries to hold in tears- which he's witnessed before, so much so that by now he should know all the signs- made Sicheng instantly worry. 

"No! You did nothing wrong Hyung I-" He racks his brain for anything to console Yuta with, knowing that he was just coming home in a few minutes and he would rather not be scolded by Johnny, or anyone for that matter, if he was seen crying. It would hurt Sicheng especially if he knew he was the cause.

"It's my fault Hyung! You did nothing wrong I was just... really sensitive that day since I couldn't get any of the choreography right and you were kind enough to check up on me. You shouldn't apologize for being your normal, considerate self. In fact, it's probably  _me_ who should be apologizing for acting like my usual self. I know it's hard for you to deal with someone like me."

Sicheng nodded, knowing that it wasn't a video call but still trying to emphasize his points as much as he could. The sniffles on the other end subdued.

_"What? No, you should never feel that way Winko, I-"_

He heard the muffles of other people coming from the other end, accompanied by an annoying huff from Yuta.

_"Um, look Sicheng, I have to go. I'll see you soon, okay?"_

"Wait, Yuta, I need to tell you-"

And then Yuta hung up.

Sicheng looked down at the now empty black screen, a picture of Kun and the Dreamies illuminating the screen when he tried to open back up the phone. He sighed, reluctantly going back the hectic living room where most of the members seemed to be doing the exact same thing, except the Dreamies were resting and Taeyong was setting up the dinner table.

"So, how did it go?" Kun asked, catching Sicheng at the corner of his eye as he walked up to him. The poor guy was still dealing with the two fighting idiots  _now_ sitting down a few feet apart, but yelling at the top of their lungs a plethora of insults that will no doubt be used later for teasing.

"Fine." He replied, not even batting an eye as he set Kun's phone down on the ground and walked off, opening the door to his shared bedroom as he ignored the yells of the man in question asking what was wrong. Dinner be damned. He just wanted a nap.

So much for trying to have a somewhat productive day.

As Sicheng cuddled up in his mountains of blankets _-_ he had stolen some from Ten as he noticed he wasn't spending as much time in his dorm as he should be- he heard the sounds from the living room growing larger. 

"Speaking of Ten." He mumbled to himself, suffocating his face with a pillow as he assumed the ruckus was for the Thai's return. It wouldn't surprise him as much. Ten loved to make an entrance.

 _"I missed you all too"_  He heard Ten chuckle out, a little strained from, no doubt, one or more of the Dreamies piling onto him. They were surprisingly heavy and combined with his short stature, it was probably giving him a hard time.

_"Ah, but where's Winwinnie?"_

Sicheng stiffened. Ten _never_ called him by his nickname.

Sicheng flopped out of his bed, bedsheets spreading everywhere and sprinting towards the front of his room. If his assumption was correct, he hoped he looked presentable.

He carefully opened the door.

Standing right in the center of the room- with a mask perfectly enveloping the crook of his neck and sporting one of the most comfortable, oversized getups that could only rival his own- was Yuta.  _The_ Nakamoto Yuta, who just a couple of minutes ago he had almost made  _cry_ , was standing right in front of him with a huge, dorky grin spread across his face the moment he made eye contact with him.

Sicheng wanted to rush right back to the comfort of his own bed. He really shouldn't have left at all to begin with.

Sicheng returned the smile, almost hesitantly, bracing himself for whatever sad or pitiful look Yuta would give him for Sicheng's horrible and unforgivable actions.

"I'm back." He softly whispered instead, tilting his head to the side as his grin only became bigger.

**\--**

 

Much to Sicheng's confusion, Yuta insisted that they both skip dinner moments later so they could go  _make up for lost time,_ or whatever that meant. SIcheng had no idea _._  To be honest, he was a little scared. The huge grin Yuta still kept on his face didn't help either.

When they entered the room, Yuta locking the door which still didn't help the worried feeling Sicheng held, he instantly changed out of his clothes- which Sicheng was not prepared for so he hastily looked away. Thankfully he did pull on his pajamas the second his clothes were off.

He ran over to Sicheng and tugged on the long sleeve of his sweater, grabbing his waist and lifting him up with all the strength he had. "Come on Sichengie, I want to cuddle!" He excitedly stated, keeping a steady grip.

"Yuta, what the hell are you doing?" He yelled, exasperated and flailing his legs around as Yuta made his way over to his bed and throwing him promptly in the middle. "The bed can barely fit  _me_! " He protested, rolling to the side as quickly as he could as he saw Yuta in the middle of jumping onto the other side.

When he landed, almost knocking Sicheng onto the ground, Yuta latched his arms around Sicheng's waist and buried his face into the softness of Sicheng's hair, exhaling fondly and snuggling himself and the latter into the sheets.

"I'm serious Hyung. The beds too small." Sicheng whined, pushing away his head and trying to wiggle himself out of the embrace. The older just pulled him back even harder and yawned. 

"Don't wanna" He mumbled, voice sounding more tired by the syllable.

Sicheng wanted to make another attempt at trying to escape; maybe now that he was vulnerable he could easily pry the arms away from his waist and sleep in the bed Yuta had decided to neglect. All that he needed to do was wait out a couple more minutes and slip into the bed next to them without any protest from a sleeping Yuta.

But he realized there was a pressing issue he needed to address. One that he knew he shouldn't leave until morning.

He inhaled.

"Hyung?" He turned to the side to face Yuta, his eyes droopy and no doubt seconds away from falling asleep. He inhaled another shaky breath before looking down at Yuta's limp hand and interlocking them.

"I'm sorry," Sicheng whispered, his eyes locking onto Yuta's as he continued. "I take back what I said okay? I promise I'll change. Just.. please don't ever leave like that again."

Yuta's eyes instantly woke up, blowing wide as his cheeks turned red and he hurriedly unlocked their fingers and instead raised his hand up to put on Sicheng's cheek. He instantly leaned into the touch, all thoughts of the situation being weird gone.

"Winko, it's not your fault" He cooed softly, stroking Sicheng's cheek softly with his thumb. "I don't ever want you to change. It was my fault too, okay? I shouldn't have bothered you"

"No!" Sicheng said, startling Yuta as he jumped a little in his spot. Sicheng raised his hand up to match Yuta's hand, enveloping it in his grasp. "You did nothing wrong. I promise I'll try better and never-"

"How about," He interrupted, taking his hand off of Sicheng's face. Sicheng almost whined from the loss. "We both agree to put this behind us, go to sleep, and pretend this never happened. We can hang out as usual without the worry."

"When did you get all mature, huh?" Sicheng giggled, gazing happily at the Japanese man in front of him. 

Yuta scoffed but smiled, his hair falling onto his face. "Goodnight Winko."

And with that, Yuta shut his eyes and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Sicheng smiled along with him and closed his eyes as well, confused about why his heart had suddenly started rapidly beating in his chest as he drifted off to sleep with the warming hug of his best friend.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Sicheng did sleep all day because he's a hardworking boy who needs his rest.
> 
> I kind of realized this could low-key be a one-shot, and I made it harder on myself by making this a series. Whoops.
> 
> Thank you for reading nonetheless! I appreciate each and every one of you <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for updating for four months... um... I can explain!
> 
> Basically, I've just been unmotivated. I deleted all the previous chapters because of how garbage they were and decided to rewrite everything. So now, the first chapter is completely re-done (and so much cheesier not gonna lie) while this chapter is completely redone too. This time I'm actually proud of how it turned out, so I hope you'll like it too!
> 
> I realized the ship between Doyoung and Taeil might not be as popular as, say, Doyoung and Jaehyun, but I promise to make it really cheesy and cute so that you won't hate it.
> 
> Look, Taeyong is whipped for Jaehyun and Taeil deserves love too.

Sicheng woke up the next morning, slowly groaning in exasperation but nonetheless turning on his side to meet his friend halfway, hoping to check up on him in reassurance that he was okay. When he stroked his hand over the other side, feeling around for any semblance of a human, all he felt was the comforting touch of his own blankets. 

He sighed- at this point Sicheng stopped being surprised at Yuta's sudden disappearances- and dragged himself out of the very comforting sheets. He ran his hands through his hair, which was disgustingly a little bit greasy, reluctantly going out of his room. He swore under his breath when the sounds of action flooded into his sensitive senses. Sicheng wrinkled his nose in disgust and continued to the main area.

The sound- he seemed to find out- was from the likes of Taeil, Doyoung, and Taeyong 

As he walked out of his room, still swearing under his breath, he was flooded with the loud noises emitting from the television Taeil, Taeyong, and Doyoung seemed to be watching. From the exhausted look on Doyoung's face, they must've been at it the whole night.

"Hey, guys" Sicheng greeted, waving at the trio who didn't even spare him a glance, gazes focused on the screen. "Where is everybody?"

Taeyong, who was the first one to acknowledge his existence, looked over his shoulder and shrugged.

"The Dreamies went back to their own dorms and Kun went to keep an eye on them. _Probably to keep them from breaking everything like the last time_ " Doyoung said from the very edge of the couch, mumbling the last part. "Jungwoo and Lucas went to practice the choreography for our next comeback. Jungwoo said he wanted to be extra prepared since he feels like he needs to impress us." Even with the fatigue clearly emanating from him, Doyoung chuckles fondly.

"But Lucas isn't in 127?" Sicheng questioned, walking over to the nearest stool and sitting on top of it. Doyoung yawned and put his head on his hand, leaning into the touch.

"I don't know, but apparently Jungwoo wanted him specifically- and Lucas had been practicing all the choreographies in his spare time- so he agreed." Taeil joined in, patting Doyoung on the shoulder as Doyoung let out yet another yawn.

Sicheng hummed. It sounded suspicious, but when was the duo ever not. "What about Johnny and Jaehyun? I've noticed they've been talking a lot more recently."  
  
Taeyong propped his arms on the sofa. "I heard Jaehyun was forced to go with Johnny since he wanted to take more photos to post. I think they went to Seoul?" He tapped his chin, a pout already formed as he spoke the words.

Sicheng nodded a question in the back of his mind lingering with every second he ignored. He cleared his throat, suddenly becoming shy, and squeaked out a little, "What about Yuta?"

All three boys looked collectively at one another, Taeyong hiding his smirk while Doyoung closed his eyes and leaned on the back of the sofa, legs ending up on top of Taeil. Taeyong, once his smirk had been hidden from Sicheng's sight, answered that he hadn't been seen all morning. Probably because they were too busy focusing on the TV to notice.

Sicheng pouted and fiddled with the sleeve of his sweater- which he remembers Taeyong himself had bought for him because he mentioned that Sicheng looked cute in it. Taeil had smothered the poor boy afterward after he first wore it while Yuta stood in the background, focusing on anything  _but_ Sicheng. The only comment Sicheng remembers Yuta giving him about the sweater is the subtle nod he gave to Taeyong when he gasped about how cute he looked.

What was even the point of wearing it in the first place if the one he wanted praise from didn't even bother to look at him? 

Taeyong noticed the look of dismay on his face, lowering his eyebrows in confusion. He lifted his hand up, looking like he was about to say something when Sicheng's stomach growled.

 Oh yeah, he didn't eat dinner.

"Are you hungry?" Taeyong asked, worried expression gone as a look of surprise surfaced. Taeil cooed and leaped off the couch, sprinting over to the chair next to Sicheng before latching himself onto his arm, rubbing his head on his shoulder. Doyoung, already on the verge of falling asleep, instantly sprung up when his legs were forced off of Taeil. He looked around worryingly and groaned when he realized he wasn't in the comfort of his bed.

"Aww, is my little Sichengie hungry?" Taeil cooed again, pinching his cheeks. Sicheng recoiled from the use of the grotesque nickname and smacked Taeil's hand off.

"Get off" He muttered, trying as hard as he could to yank away from Taeil's grip. Sadly, Taeil was way stronger than you would expect, and could easily overpower Sicheng in terms of grip. Taeyong watched as the sickening scene happened from afar, encasing his mouth with his hand when the funniness of the situation became too much. He didn't want to make Sicheng angry, but his suffering was so fun to watch. Doyoung, on the other hand, had turned away from the scene, focusing more on commercials popping up on television than the two idiots.

"Hmm, it is almost lunchtime. Should we go out?" Taeyong proposed, stretching out his arms slightly, and in the process, hitting Doyoung square in the face. When Doyoung had woken up enough to process the action, he had glared at Taeyong- which didn't have his rightful effect as Doyoung had too much of a cute face for Taeyong to be intimidated. 

After hitting Taeyong a couple of times to make him apologize properly, Doyoung had gotten himself off the couch and pried Taeil away from Sicheng, making Taeil whine.

"Taeyong's right. Let's go grab some Samgyeopsa!" Doyoung yelled energetically, lifting Taeil up into a bridal-style position- wheezing slightly about how heavy he seemed to be- and ran out the door with Taeil yelling protests. Sicheng couldn't help but laugh.

"You ready Winnie?" Taeyong asked surprising Sicheng has he held up a mask for him to wear. Sicheng groaned slightly when realizing that he had to hide his identity once again- the downside of deciding to join an idol group- but he took it without question and strapped it behind his ears. He secretly hated the way it made his ears pop out more, folding them to a point where they stuck out, but couldn't complain when others complimented on how cool he looked. It didn't do him much justice, but if he got to hear praises every time he wore it, then he wasn't complaining.

Especially if they came from Yuta.

"Winnie?" Taeyong waved a hand over his face, reaching up a little bit to meet him eye to eye. Sicheng jumped back from the closeness, stumbling over to grab his jacket and beanie. He heard Taeyong's chuckles grow louder as he knocked random objects onto the ground, picking them up carefully only to knock more objects down in the process.

When he was finally ready, he ran over to meet Taeyong over at the front door, who had bowed and handsomely opened the door for him.

"You're such a dork Hyung." He chuckled, lightly smacking Taeyong on the arm before accepting the chivalrous action. Taeyong smiled widely, closing the door behind him and running back to Doyoung and Taeil- who were way ahead of them with Taeil still being in the bridal position. Doyoung, it seems, would've carried him the entire way had it not been for Taeyong, who caught up and smacked the masks onto their faces, yelling something that Sicheng could not hear before Doyoung let Taeil down. As soon as he did though, the pair had lifted their fists and started running after Taeyong, who was taunting them every which way while running twice as fast away from them.

Sicheng smiled softly behind his mask while watching his friends. As much as he hated their constant bickering, and at times their constant oblivious flirting to one another, he wouldn't want to be with anyone else but them. Which he would never admit out loud because as much as they know, Sicheng would sell all of them off for just one hour of peace and quiet.

But yeah, besides the fact that his friends are adorable little crackheads, he would've preferred to have Yuta come along with them. Not because Sicheng cared- he doesn't, by the way- but because he remembered that Yuta went crazy over Samgyeopsal, and as he said,  _would immediatly marry anyone who could make the perfect bowl of Samgyeopsal._

It probably also didn't matter that Sicheng almost made the entire dorm explode from the mess he made in the kitchen, coincidentally trying to learn how to make Samgyeopsal.

"Don't leave me here!" Sicheng yelled between breaths of cold air, laughing happily and picking up his pace so he could catch up to his friends.

**\--**

When Sicheng had finally caught up with the trio he watched Doyoung's previous exhaustion, along with the energy he had mustered to hold Taeil up, take a toll on him as he hooked his arm around Taeil's shoulder to lean on him for support as fell asleep standing up.

Taeil- who Sicheng could faintly see- had light pink dusted over his cheeks as he held Doyoung closer to protect him from falling onto the ground. Taeyong also noticed the questionable exchange, cheekily asking why Taeil was holding Doyoung in a very " _loving"_ way.  Taeil then proceeded to choke on his own spit and started sputtering out excuses like _he was just worried about the safety of his fellow teammate_  or that  _he was making sure he wouldn't have to deal with the whining that would start if he ever dropped him_. This all being done in a very loud tone, waking Doyoung up slowly as he defended himself. 

"Ah, Doyoung! No no no, go to back to sleep" Taeil panicked, softly whispering to his sleep-deprived friend as Doyoung sluggishly groaned from his sudden awakening. Hoping to sedate him, Taeil squatted down to the ground and offered to carry him properly. It didn't take much convincing for Doyoung to agree and immediately start climbing on his back and lazily slugging his arms around his neck. Taeil stood up, using one hand to hold Doyoung's legs and another to grip his hands. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by the pair watching the whole scene unravel, and certainly not by the groups of giggling girls who noticed them and started snapping photos to probably post online later.

Although having absolutely no knowledge of where they were going- a very dumb idea to say the least as they spent half an hour blindly wandering around town-, the group eventually stumbled upon a very small Samgyeopsal shop that seemed to be open. Taeil happily sighed and went over to the outside benches, letting Doyoung down as gently as possible before collapsing beside him.

"He's  _so_ heavy" He whined, stretching out his back and groaning in pain. Taeyong and Sicheng looked at each other, rolling their eyes and settling on a bench right beside the others.

"You didn't seem to be complaining" Sicheng teased, not missing the way that Taeil flashed especially red but played it off as if it was because of the cold. He wasn't stupid, but he played along with it to save what little pride Taeil had left. 

"I'm going to go check to see if they have any available seats for us," Taeyong said, patting Sicheng on the arm and stretching back up on his feet. "I wouldn't see why not though. The place seems small and it doesn't seem like the type of place to have specific seating. Anyways, you keep an eye on Doyoung and-"

_"Taeyong!"_

Taeyong stopped his motion of opening the door, peering inside the little crack he made and immediatly shutting it once he heard the voice calling out to him.

"Nevermind guys. This place looks like a  _dump_. Maybe we should-

_"Taeyongie!"_

Taeyong cursed, walking over to Sicheng and hiding behind his skinny stature. "Taeyong, who is it?" Sicheng asked, looking over to the shop's door as it quickly opened, slamming into the wall.

Oh, now he got it.

"Sorry, this is on you," Sicheng pried Taeyong away from him- who thankfully, unlike Taeil, was not as strong as him-  and threw him in front of him, letting him fend for himself. Taeyong glared at Sicheng, muttering a word of betrayal before getting attacked by the person in question who dared to make  _the_ Taeyong scared for his life.

Ten- who had seemingly wandered out on his own without permission- was tackling Taeyong to the ground in a very forceful but loving attack, muttering words of how much he missed him.

"We saw each other yesterday!" Taeyong screamed, trying to push the very clingy Thai off of him while attracting multiple looks from strangers who were screaming about how they recognized Ten, and then promptly assuming everyone else as members of the same group. The stupid guy didn't even bother to wear a mask.

As if it mattered. One group didn't even know who they were, although they constantly made comments about how hot the  _one being tackled_  seemed to be.

"I was only gone for a day and you don't even miss me? You pain me Taeyongie!" Ten teasingly whined, lifting himself off of Taeyong when he heard the struggling sounds of Taeyong choking start to surface. Taeyong, although annoyed by the sudden heart attack Ten had inflicted onto him, put away his scowl and instead took the hand Ten offered him to stand up.

"Yeah, yeah. I did miss you, you dumb whore." Taeyong insulted, patting Ten harshly on the back with as much force as he could muster.

"Wow, Taeyongie! How did you know I have a degrading kink?" 

"Oh my god. Nevermind. Go burn"

**\--**

After Taeyong had finished getting his revenge by trying to choke Ten- stopping after Ten made another gross sexual joke that no one would ever want to hear come out of his mouth- Ten properly greeted the other members. He tried to shoo Doyoung to scoot farther to the side but was shot down by a warning glare from Taeil. Ten raised his hands in surrender and went to sit on the other side with Sicheng and Taeyong. The fit was strained, but Ten was definitely not going to deal with the likes of the latter anytime soon.

They all started chatting out in the cold- an action Sicheng didn't understand as there was a perfectly warm restaurant just inches away from where they were sitting, hot and ready Samgyeopsal waiting for them just on the other side- but he didn't mention anything as he was waiting for Taeyong to speak up.

Speaking of Taeyong, his voice had become unbearably low, almost to the point where it didn't even sound like he was speaking at all. Sicheng tentatively glanced over at the leader and saw him, as well as Ten, were staring very focused at the area in front of them,

Across from them was a cafe. Nothing special, just a quaint little shop like the restaurant itself, probably full of every muffin and cookie to be desired. The shop itself isn't what seemed to be the object of focus, although it did seem like a place Sicheng would have to remember for later, but the two blurry figures in the distance that were happily sipping cappuccinos with wide smiles and loud laughter.

When Sicheng squinted harder he could finally make out the pair. It was Johnny and Jaehyun.

Their masks were still covering a majority of their face, but they brought it down every so often to sip from their cups, so there was no mistaking it was definitely them. They were sitting quite close together, although the table they were sitting at didn't seem to have that much space, to begin with. Cameras were seen sitting beside them, way away from the coffee of course, with the tiny labels of them sticking out for the group to see in all of its glory.

And what would you know, on Jaehyun's supposed camera, there was a labeling of the name  _Ten_ written neatly in English. Sicheng remembered the story Ten had told him one evening of Johnny gifting him a brand new camera with his own name written for him as if claiming it as his own. He seemed more than happy to admit that to all of the members on that particular day. Sicheng could tell it was very sentimental to him.

Having someone else just easily use it, and from the consent of the very person who gave it to him, must break Ten's heart.

Knowing this, Sicheng slowly looked over to Ten, whose pout was very evident as he ripped his gaze painfully away from the pair and opted to stare down at his phone. A few text messages Sicheng gathered from the corner of his eye told him that Ten had very clearly asked Johnny to wait for him, as he was coming back to the dorms by afternoon.

Another audible sigh turned Sicheng's attention to Taeyong, who was just as mystified about the two interacting with each other so closely as Ten was. Though Ten looked more heartbroken from the obvious betrayal Johnny inflicted upon him, Taeyong looked more tired than solemn, all the energy he once had drained completely from his body. Compared to Taeyong, Doyoung looked like he had a whole week of nonstop sleep. 

Taeil, noticing the tension, nudged the now awake Doyoung who silently exchanged nods with him and started smiling. He sat up and linked his arm around Taeyong's while Taeil made it his mission to cheer up Ten.

"I'm hungry. Let's go get lunch!" Doyoung yelled out, squeezing Taeyong's arm in comfort. Taeyong nodded, almost unwillingly, before blinking a few times and forcing on a very fake smile. Ten did the same, hiking up with Taeil to the restaurant with a more bitter expression.

As they ate, no one mentioned the fact that Ten had already eaten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your girl has lots of tests and exams coming up (plus I'm going to the NCT concert in the yeehaw state itself) so please bear with me on the updates. I promise I won't take four months to update again!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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